SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Scott Shafer's defense proved unflappable, MTSU's offense rallied late, and the 29,721 in attendance at the Carrier Dome were silenced as the visiting team walked out with a 30-23 win. Here are five things we learned about MTSU from its victory over Syracuse on Saturday:

MTSU's defense is much improved under Shafer

Last week, three Vanderbilt touchdowns on its first three possessions distracted from the fact that in the second half of that game, MTSU's defense actually played pretty well. On Saturday, that trend continued in a big way. Syracuse's first three possessions went punt, safety, punt. It then forced a field goal after Syracuse began its drive at the MTSU 4 following a turnover.

At halftime, Syracuse's high-octane offense had mustered just 111 yards on 44 plays before finishing with 308 yards. MTSU had six sacks against Syracuse. Orange quarterback Eric Dungey had 328 yards in a win over Central Connecticut last week. He had just 182 against the Blue Raiders on Saturday.

"It was interesting game-planning," said MTSU first-year defensive coordinator Scott Shafer, who was fired as Syracuse head coach in 2015. "You know the kids, you know their strengths or weaknesses and you try to put together a game plan where the kids understand what we want to get done. Don't put too many things on their plate.

"It's tough. It's always tough the first year. I remember my first year here at Syracuse. We had some ups and downs, but we saw progress and I can say the same with our kids here."

MTSU's defense, which allowed an average of 35.8 points last year, has allowed 25.5 against two Power Five programs to open its 2017 season.

"It's amazing to get this win for (Shafer)," quarterback Brent Stockstill said. "The ref gave me the ball after the game and I was like, 'Why is he giving this to me?' And I thought about it for a minute and said, 'This one's got to go to coach Shafer.' He doesn't talk much about it. He doesn't care about his past. He's just happy to be here. But every one of these guys wanted to get this one for him. We knew how much it would mean to him just coming back here to get him a win so it's even greater that the defense won the game for us."

MTSU offense finally starting to find a rhythm

It was pretty grim for a while there. Like, 0-for-20 on third down to start the season grim. But then Stockstill hooked up with James for a 28-yard touchdown on a third-and-10 late in the third quarter, and something clicked. MTSU followed the James score with consecutive touchdown-scoring drives. Stockstill completed touchdown passes of 48 and 10 yards to Ty Lee and Shane Tucker, respectively. The Blue Raiders, after committing three first-half turnovers, finally looked a bit like their old selves on the offensive side of the ball.

"We had a couple of three-and-outs, we couldn't get going, but then once we get the first first down, we felt like we were going to be able to move it," Stockstill said. "And that's what we were able to do in the fourth."

Ty Lee at running back?

MTSU entered Saturday still without an established No. 1 running back, leaving the door open for others to step up. On Saturday, that was wide receiver Ty Lee, who had 18 carries for 50 yards, including a 14-yard scamper for a touchdown in the second quarter.

"I'm honored to run the ball for coach (offensive coordinator Tony) Franklin," Lee said. "He came to me earlier this week and asked me if I could run the ball for him. And I said, 'Yes sir. Anything you ask.'"

MTSU coach Rick Stockstill said Lee will continue to serve as the team's first option at running back.

Offensive line still very much a work in progress

The struggles of MTSU's offensive line were the storyline of its Week 1 loss to Vanderbilt. It allowed five sacks, four quarterback hurries and MTSU averaged only 1.9 yards per carry rushing. The unit still looked out of whack in the first half Saturday — "We couldn't protect," Rick Stockstill said. "We did a terrible job again in the first half" — but made some halftime adjustments, which helped lead the way to the Blue Raiders' second-half surge.

"I thought our offensive line, especially the second half, I thought they were a lot better the second half than they were the first half," Stockstill said "You see that on the touchdowns that we hit, on the last one to Shane, Brent gets through his third read, gets to the fourth read, so he's got a bit more time on there."

Reed Blankenship is the real deal

Blankenship, a true freshman, drew rave reviews from the MTSU coaching staff during training camp. His impact has already been felt through MTSU's first two games — he started the game at free safety — but no more than when he made a diving interception with 4:30 left.